Linux Kernel Valued at $1.4 Billion

Filed in archive OS on February 25, 2010

© monkeysox

The University of Oviedo in Spain has released a study which values the Linux 2.6.30 kernel at approximately $1.4 billion.

"If that number sounds familiar, it's because the figure of $1.4 billion as a value for Linux has been reported before," notes InternetNews' Sean Michael Kerner. "Back in 2008, I reported on a study that place the value of a Linux kernel at — yeah you guessed it $1.4 billion. That was a Linux Foundation sponsored study that used a metric that calculates lines of code, effort and developer costs per hour. It built on an a 2002 report that put the value of the Linux kernel at $1.2 billion."

"Putting a traditional cost model on the Linux kernel doesn't quite make sense, as the researchers freely admit, but their model does help to illustrate the enormous value in the project," writes The Register's Austin Modine. "The report concludes by saying that despite a lack of book value, commons-based innovation should receive a 'higher level of official recognition that would set it as an alternative to decision-makers.' A copy of the research can be found here."

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